Temples in Hampi : 5 Vitthala Temple Complex and Stone chariot

If Hampi is the crown of Vijayanagara architecture, the
Vitthala Temple in Hampi is the crown jewel. The Vitthala temple is a sprawling complex with
intricately carved pillars and grand Mantapas. This complex also houses the
stone chariot, which is considered as the epitome of the Vijayanagara art and
sculpture.

The main deity of Vitthala Temple in Hampi

Vitthala temple lies around 2.7km north-east of the
Virupaksha temple, over the bank of the Tungabhadra river. The temple was
dedicated to Vitthala – a form of Vishnu. Vitthala is often depicted as a dark
young boy, standing arms akimbo on a brick, sometimes accompanied by his main
consort Rakhumai. The cult of Vitthala worship is pre-dominant in the Maharashtra,
Karnataka, Goa, Telangana and Andhra Pradesh regions.

Vitthala temple is open from 8:30am till 5:00pm all days,
but if you are keen on exploring the unending sculptures and bas-reliefs of the
Vitthala temple, it is better to reach the place around 8:00am in the morning.It would help you enjoy the place in a serene
atmosphere and also would give ample photography opportunities. No private vehicles are now allowed to go near
the temple. There is an electric vehicle facility, which covers around a half
kilometer and drop you next to the Vitthala temple’s east gate.

History of the Vitthala Temple in Hampi

Even though there is no clear evidence regarding the history of the Vitthala temple in Hampi, scholars believe that it's construction started under the patronage of Devaraya II (1422-46 AD) and later expanded by Krishnadevaraya (1509-1529) and his queens. The east Gopura is the main entrance to the temple. The primary building material of the Gopura was red brick and it was partially burned during the raid of Hampi.

After the fall of Vijayanagara in the battle of Talikota in
1565, the invaders stayed six months in Hampi, just to destruct the splendorous
buildings. What we see today is only a very small percentage of the original,
which was left alone by the invaders- probably they would have been exhausted
by six months and thankfully given up!

Architecture of the Vitthala Temple in Hampi

As we enter the Vitthala temple, be prepared to be owe
struck. What we are about to witness is nothing less than an architectural
magic, which would instantly transport you to the ancient times.

Unlike the other temples in Hampi, the Vitthala temple has
only one enclosure which has entry gates at the east, north and south. Right
opposite to the east gate, we can see the stone chariot in the center of the
courtyard.

In front of the stone chariot, the “Maha-Mantapa or Sabha
Mantapa”(means the great pillared hall/ congregation hall) is situated.
“Maha-Mantapa” has four halls with opening towards four directions. Next to the
Maha-Mantapa, there are two free standing Mantapa (to the north and south of
the stone chariot) and there is another 100 pillared hall known as the “Kalyana
Mantap”. These are the main attractions within the Vitthala temple complex. We
would go deeper into each of them.

The Stone Chariot in the Vitthala Temple in Hampi

The iconic image of Hampi is the Stone Chariot. It is an
exquisite structure which stands on an ornate plinth, which is exquisitely
carved with warrior figures and supported by two stone wheels on the
either side of it. The stone chariot was originally the shrine of “Garuda” – the
eagle which serves as the vehicle of Lord Vishnu. It is quite customary in
Hindu temples to have a small shrine for the vehicle of the main deity, facing
the main sanctum.The front view of the chariot shows a small niche which is the Garuda sanctum and devoid of any idol now.There is also a broken stone ladder which is used access the sanctum.

There is no clear evidence regarding the period in which the
stone chariot is built. Some believe that it wasKrishnadevaraya who conceptualized this
massive stone chariot, and he was inspired by the great sun temple of Konark in
Odisha, which is in the form of a colossal chariot drawn by a team of seven
horses depicted in the galloping mode.This belief is logical as, the
construction date of the stone chariot is certainly later than
Krishnadevaraya’s successful military campaign to Odisha. Even though
Krishnadevaraya might have conceptualized the chariot, scholars are of the
opinion that the construction might have completed in 1554, along with the other
free standing mantapas on north and south side of it.

In front of the chariot we can see two elephants trying to pull it. However, originally the sculptures of horses were placed in front of the Chariot. The horse sculptures were completely ruined and then the elephants were placed in front of the chariot in 19th century for the sake of completeness. on closer observation one can see the tail and hind legs of the horses those were originally in place.

The piece of the horses that was originally driving the chariot is visible
Image Courtesy: John and Siv O'Neall at http://sjoneall.net/

The bottom of the chariot has a carved platform and on the
sides of the chariot we see the stationary wheels which are intricately carved
with circular floral motif.

On the lower part of the chariot, we can see the
reminiscence of the red and white paint. In ancient times, the entire Vitthala
temple complex was painted in bright red and white. It would have been such a
splendorous sight, just like the fragrance to gold!

The Stone chariot is referred to as a monolithic structure;
however it is made of 28 pieces, where the joints are concealed with masterful
craft. The top part of the chariot is adorned with intricately carved
colonettes ending in a flat roof.In
ancient times, there was a towered roof on top of the chariot, however it was
removed during the modern time renovations of the end of 19th
century.

Right in front of the stone chariot, the Maha-Mantapa
stands. As the name suggest, this is the most exquisite construction at Vittala
temple. Major portion of the Mantapa was added in 1554, during the renovation
of Vittala temple under the supervision of one of Sadashiva’s military
commanders. Out of all temples in Hampi, this hall has the most exquisite architectural features.

“Maha-Mantapa forms the part of an enclosure which leads to
a relatively simple inner sanctum. The inner sanctum doesn’t contain an idol
now. There is a simple brick tower over the inner sanctum and an unlit passage
(“Pradikshana-Patha”) around the inner sanctum. Most of these parts have
succumbed to destruction during the invasion from Delhi sulthanate. The inner
sanctum and the outer enclosures like Maha-Mantapa has been attributed to different
time periods and it is evident from the difference in design.

The Mahamantapa stands on an ornate platform, which has the
bas reliefs of foreign horse trades. On the sides of this platform we can find
the miniature shrines with deities are carved in the stone.

Mahamantapa is divided into four halls, which has stairs
leading to four different directions. The hall on the east side of the
Mahamantapa is known as the “Musicians Hall”. The main attraction of this area
is the composite pillars that are surrounded by sleek colonetts cut out of a
single granite rock. These pillars are known as Musical pillars, as they emit
tones while being gently tapped.

The folklores say that the British were so curious about the
sound, that they actually cut one of the pillars to see what was inside.
However couldn’t find anything. To prevent damage to the pillars, tapping on
them is strictly prohibited now. Nevertheless the visitors can admire the
architectural splendor of the pillars. Apart from the musical pillars, other pillars
on the east hall are adorned with the bas reliefs of musicians, drummers and
dancers.

The northern hall of the Maha-mantapa is known as the
Narasimha Hall, where pillars are adorned with different aspects of Lord
Narasimha – a half man, lion form- the 4th Avatar of Lord Vishnu.

The other two halls of the Maha-Mantapa is also grand with
mythical yali pillars, unending sculptures of the different Avatars of Vishnu
and different occasions from the life of
Krishna. One of the particularly striking bas reliefs is the depiction of
Ravana – with his 10 heads and 1000 arms. It is a rare sculpture, which is
seldom found within Indian temples.

There are two free standing Mantapas to the South and North
of the stone chariot. These structures are contemporary with the stone chariot
and were built in 1554. The Mantapa on the south side has a very fine and
symmetrical structure. It has intricately carved Yaali pillars with warriors in
courtly dress or Muslim costume riding them.

The interior of the south Mantapa has a raised dais and
there are four huge Yaali pillars on the four sides of it. The roof of this
dias is of particular interest as it is carved with a beautiful lotus motif.

The northern Mantapa is not as highly ornate as the southern
one. It is situated quite close to the northern wall of the temple complex. In
fact, the elevated dais in the northern Mantapa almost adjoins with the
northern wall.

One can find a Mantapa with a large number of pillars
towards the south Gopura of the temple complex. This is known as the 100
pillared hall or the kalyana Mantapaa. Unlike the Southern and Northen free
standing mantapas this 100 pillared hall is attributed to an early time period.
A trilingual inscription on the external walls of this Mantapa is dated on
1516, according to which Krishnadevaraya built this Kalyana Mantapa.

On the south side of the Vittala temple, we can see a hill
and a small temple on top of it. It is the Anjanedri Hill at Anegundi
village, which is at the opposite bank of the Thungabadra River. The
Anjanedri Hill shrine is a famous religious place as it is believed to be
the birth place of Hanuman.

Grand Bazzar in front of Vittala temple in Hampi

In front of the Vittala temple, once there was a grand
bazaar which was 40 meters wide and almost one kilometer long. At the end of
this bazaar running east from the Vitthala temple, we can see a small Mantapa
with a raised dais and a brick tower running above it. This Mantapa was used
for displaying the processional image of the idol of Vitthala temple, which
used to be taken out in a chariot during the festival days of the temple.

On the one side of the bazzar, a portico is set in the
colonnades, which gives access to the sacred water tank of the temple. It is
locally known as the “Lokapavani”.

Apart from the grand bazaar in the east, there is also
another rather small bazaar running in the north direction from the Vitthala
temple which leads to another small temple. Even though there is no clear
evidence, it is believed that this temple was dedicated to Ramanuja.

There are a lot of ancient ruins like the bazaars with
colonnades on both sides, the Mada(matha) or the residential complex of the
Brahmins, the “chhattra” – feeding houses around the Vitthala temple. They
clearly show that there was a fully-fledged township around the Vitthala
temple, which the scholars now named as Vitthalapura.

i wish to learn a trick or two from your blogging to be used in my blog? one interesting thing i found was, that ruined gate was made from bricks? till now we were imagining that these temples mostly were built by Stone? carved out?